The Bengaluru police on 26 December formally denied permission for a show by actress Sunny Leone on 31 December, saying they are not in a position to give special attention to the event during New Year celebrations.

Sunny Leone. Photo courtesy Facebook/@sunnyleone

The decision comes after the Karnataka High Court’s recent direction to the police to pass an appropriate order by December 25 on the application filed by the organisers, seeking a direction to the authorities to allow the show.

“Since the police have to maintain law and order throughout the city, including for huge gatherings on Mahatma Gandhi and Brigade roads, special attention cannot be given to ‘Sunny Nights’ at Manyata Tech Park on December 31,” Bengaluru North East Deputy Commissioner of Police S Girish told PTI.

H S Bhavya, proprietor of The Time Creations, an event? management firm, had moved the high court as the government had on December 15, disallowed the show after protests by some Kannada outfits which claimed that it would be an “assault” on city’s culture.

In her petition, Bhavya had alleged that on December 16, police had orally refused permission, but did not give it in writing. After the police refusal, Leone had said she will not perform as police will not be able to ensure her safety and of those who would want to attend the event.

Giving further grounds, the senior police official said the organisers had not furnished clarifications on various issues, including permissions to be obtained from government departments and arrangements made for holding such an event. He also said though the organisers claimed to have sold only 8,000 tickets, intelligence inputs expect a much bigger crowd to assemble at the venue.

Karnataka Rakshana Vedike and other outfits had held protests against the event, taking out rallies and burning effigies of Leone.